When the Rain Falls
by Invisible Bill
Summary: Summary to come. For now, if you want to read it, please do, if not ignore it. Rated for future chapters, will later be R.


It was a very dark night, the moon gone from the sky, hidden behind great thunderheads. In the forest, lay a man, resting. He was currently sprawled under a tree, scarcely sheltering him from the cold, wet night.  
  
Raindrops began to fall only lightly sprinkling the dew covered ground. He shivered a bit, and while trying to curl up, flinched his sudden movements causing great pain to make its way through his entire body. Ignoring it he sat up, and began to stand only to collapse again. The humility of it all, not able to stand, but able to show just how badly his enemies had damaged him, he thought.  
  
Armor minced, clothes torn almost to shreds, there wasn't much left of him now. Having his energy almost completely drained didn't stop him from trying again to stand. This time succeeding the man pulled the sword from his waist, still sheathed, and used it to lean on as he stumbled along out of site from anything, or anyone.  
  
For some reason he was deeper into the forest then he had thought. It seemed to take ages to reach the edge, but the only thing that followed were empty fields and meadows that stretched for miles. He turned back wincing inwardly at every step he took.  
  
A haven was found beside a lake. Propping up against an ancient oak tree, he collapsed again, only this time unconsciousness took him.  
  
***  
  
A low hum, a gentle breeze, the warm atmosphere was calming. Soft hands explored and treated open wounds, wrapping them gingerly. He realized these hands were not his own, and his eyes shot open blood shot and sore. He tried to sit up.  
  
"Lie back down baka, or you'll re-open some nasty ones." a females voice reached his ears. Looking over he saw the owner. She was short, yet slim. Long flaxen tresses sprawled across her young face and broad shoulders, nearly concealing her crystal like eyes. His eyes traced along her body starting from the top, pausing awkwardly in the middle, down to her feet which were bare.  
  
"Did you hear me? I said lie down" she spoke more firmly this time pressing her hand lightly on his collar bone forcing him down. She smiled as the color crept slightly across his cheeks, only to vanish as quickly as it came.  
  
"Who are you?"  
  
"My name is Ani. Who are you?" she said laughing a bit. Ani stood up ineptly, brushing off her rear, and walked across the room nearly tripping over the hem of her long skirt. She picked up a bowl that was placed on one of the many shelves along the wall. Each one littered with jars, books, tools, and random dried herbs. After collecting a few things, she laid them all neatly on the counter beside her and began to prepare something.  
  
"Sesshomaru." he said almost inaudibly. Ani returned smiling again, two teeth he noticed, curved in slightly more then the rest, but other then that, it was flawless.  
  
"Are you a demon? Or a half-breed maybe?" she said looking down at the bowl in her hands now full of some kind of liquid. Sesshomaru's face contorted in anger.  
  
"I am pure demon" he said in a rather haughty tone, his expression was that of a 'Thank you very much' manner. Ani paid no mind to this and continued to smile innocently, after a few seconds he realized this as well, and looked away, feeling somewhat defeated. To feel as though he had reclaimed his superiority, he sat back up, only more slowly this time.  
  
"Then you can drink this. Here." She said handing him the small bowl in her lap, "It will help you feel better faster and heal you on the inside better then I could."  
  
Sesshomaru looked at the small item now in his grasp, and then looked up at her. Ani wasn't looking in his direction but outside the window to his left. The rain was still falling, and a loud clap of thunder proved that the night's storm had not let up yet. The young woman jumped as another growl emitted from the sky, much louder and sudden then the previous one.  
  
Sesshomaru took a sip of the concoction in his hand, the question of trust that was forming in his head answered by her innocence.  
  
"Why am I here?" he asked after downing the last of the strangely sweet mixture. Ani fell backwards onto her rear. She was balanced gracefully on her toes, while her knees and back were bent so that her head could be propped on her palms, but then she fell, his abrupt words startling her.  
  
"Well.I found you, for starters. A few days ago, you were over by the village near the other side of the lake. You looked dead, so I was gonna get some of the men over there to bury you because I was busy. But then you started breathing when I kicked you so I brought you home with me, and here you are now." She paused looking at the quizzical look on his face. "What it's not that hard to understand."  
  
"You said a few days ago." he stated. Ani nodded,  
  
"3 I think, why? Did you have to be somewhere or something?"  
  
"No." He said looking out the window. After a few minutes Sesshomaru spoke again.  
  
"Has it been raining this whole time?" Ani nodded again looking back out the window.  
  
"The lake will over flow soon, more so than now. I hope it doesn't rain much longer, it will drown my garden and the roof is starting to leak." Sighing she pointed to the buckets across the room that were slowly filling. Feeling the blanket covering him slowly slide down his chest, Sesshomaru looked down to realize his cloths were gone. Ani already noticed his awkward blush and answered his next question before he had the time to ask.  
  
"I'm not done with them yet. All of your garments were torn to pieces. I'll need some more time to mend them. Here, you don't need it now but when your leg gets better and you start to walk around you can were this. I might just need to make you a whole new outfit; so far I'm barely done with the chemise." Ani handed him a pair of loose lightweight cotton pants. He took them without complaining, and continued to watch the rain fall.  
  
----  
  
So that's it for this chapter. What do you guys think? Should I continue? Review if you want, and check back often chapter 2 will be posted shortly. 


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